Anzac Day in Oatley 2022

Everyday is a great day when you get to take some pictures, but by far the most important day of the year for photography is our own Anzac Day.

To play a small role in keeping the tradition alive is one of the best feelings you can have as a photographer.

As creatives we are always looking for meaning in our work and photographing Anzac Day fulfils that in it’s entirety.

The annual combined service of the Oatley, Mortdale and Penshurst RSL Sub-branches was held at Oatley Memorial Park in the early hours of Monday morning starting at a brisk 6am.

Despite the early start and the April rain, the day attracted people in their hundreds. I arrived at 530am as you never can tell with these events how easy or hard it is to park. But with plenty of parking in the backstreets of a Oatley the timing worked out well for a 6am start.

As the rain was pouring down and it was still in the dark of night. It doesn’t get any harder then that to take some pictures. The struggle of keeping yourself and your gear dry mixed in with only the street light makes it pretty difficult to take some pictures.

But you find what light you can, pump up the iso to around 10,000 and fire away.

As the sun came up around half way through the ceremony, it became easier to photograph. But the darkness of the early morning also adds to some moody pictures too. So all conditions add up over the course of the ceremony.